Photo: Bryce Perrien and Matt Pauk, seniors at CHS, prepare to launch their rocket, Deadpool, at the 13th annual Rocket Rally Tuesday morning.
Today (Tuesday) marked the 13th annual Rocket Rally at Carroll High School for Scott Duhrkopf’s physics class, and the group of seniors was excited about seeing their many hours of work culminate in the launching of the 14 rockets built over the course of the semester. With the recent weather issues, Duhrkopf said they were fortunate they didn’t have to change the date of the rally, but conditions still weren’t perfect.
Chris Onken, Tanner White and Destiny Rummel had just shot off their NuTech rocket and were anxious to record their altitude, but a glitch in the altimeter for the Sumo rocket recorded it at zero feet. Though disappointed they didn’t get an accurate reading, the group had estimated it would reach a max height of 840 feet and Onken said the entire assignment has been fun.
The teams were able to select from two different rocket models, one that would attain more height and one that offered more design options. And though there wasn’t any real competition in this learning experience, everyone was still interested in hearing about which rocket had outdone the others. Bryce Perrien and Matt Pauk launched their rocket Deadpool to 2032 feet, and both were excited about holding the record at that point. However, Perrien said he has learned more than physics in Duhrkopf’s class, he has learned about work ethic and how to manage his time and efforts for good results. Lessons he said he will take with him to Iowa State University this fall. Austin Fleener and Eric Bruening said Duhrkopf was the best teacher they have ever had and he has made learning physics easy and fun. And, who wouldn’t like to dress up in carrot costumes and shoot a carrot rocket into the air for class credit?
At the time of their launch, that carrot rocket came closest to reaching the moon with an altimeter reading of 2300 feet into the air. Additional photos of the event can be found below.
